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Warning! Spoilers ahead for Will Trent season 4, episode 16, “Our Last Dance.”Amanda Wagner’s time is done, but her death will have a lasting impact in Will Trent‘s future, and that’s part of the reason behind Sonja Sohn’s exit. The 2025-2026 TV cycle has been brutal on agency leaders thus far. Not long after Director Leon Vance’s death in NCIS‘s 500th episode, High Potential season 2 finale left Captain Nick Wagner’s life hanging in the balance following a fatal stab.
While his fate remains uncertain, a similar tragedy also struck Will Trent season 4, but unlike the LAPD Major Crimes, GBI’s loss has already been definitive. Wagner’s death was officially confirmed in “Our Last Dance,” as the rest of the GBI found Wilbur on the street with her lifeless body in front of him. The autopsy confirmed that she died quite quickly, considering her stab wounds. While that’s all definitive, there is still confusion about why ABC would get rid of a fan-favorite character in one of their most popular series, especially since she just got out of a near-death experience at the start of the year. The answer to that mystery, however, is twofold.
Amanda Wagner’s Death Will Serve As A Reset For Will Trent
On the heels of the shocking reveal of Amanda’s fate in Will Trent season 4, episode 15, “The Blank Expanse of Nothing,” showrunners Liz Heldens, Daniel T. Thomsen & Karine Rosenthal offered an explanation for the significance of Amanda’s death. Rosenthal, in particular, shared that, considering her importance to Wilbur and the rest of the main cast, her loss sets up an entirely new dynamic in GBI. Amanda’s untimely demise would be the launching pad for Will Trent season 5’s story.
“Amanda has been the character who has protected Will for as long as she has known him. So this gives us the opportunity for a completely new dynamic in the GBI, because her replacement will not have that same relationship with Will. Her death had the most impact on the most amount of characters. It really sets everybody reeling from this enormous loss. So it’s such a reset for our characters in a way that is painful but exciting for Season 5.”
For what it’s worth, this explanation makes sense. The Ramón Rodríguez-led procedural isn’t the first show on network TV to do something like this. It’s important for procedurals to keep things fresh, given how long they usually run, and one thing to do that is to make cast rotations from time to time. That said, understanding storytelling side of things doesn’t make losing someone as beloved as Amanda any easier.
1 Network TV Trend Likely Also Motivated Sonja Sohn’s Will Trent Exit
Off-screen, there’s another potential reason for Amanda’s death. It’s no secret that many network TV shows, particularly ones that have been on the air for a while now, are being subjected to budget cuts coming into next season. Grey’s Anatomy, 9-1-1, and The Rookie are all confirmed to be impacted by this when they return during the 2026-2027 TV cycle. Will Trent is likely going to also be affected by this, and one way to address that is by writing off long-term series regulars like Sohn.
ABC Officially Marks The End Of An Era For Will Trent
Following a successful three-year run, ABC officially marks the end of an era for Ramón Rodríguez’s Georgia detective and the rest of Will Trent.
Days after Amanda’s stabbing reveal, Sohn broke her silence about her Will Trent exit, effectively confirming that it wasn’t her decision to leave the series. She said that she was handed the “pink slip,” although she says that this isn’t a new experience for her, as an actor who has been in the industry for a long time. In fact, she’s even talking about it in depth in her memoir. Writing Sohn off of Will Trent has left so many heartbroken. Whether the death will be worth it for the show’s future will all depend on how this loss will be integrated into its storytelling.
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Ana Dumaraog
Almontather Rassoul
